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What You Didn’t Know About Your Mouthwash

I recently stumbled upon quite a few reports about a specific mouthwash that was literally KILLING people’s taste buds. I was amazed, but not completely shocked.

This particular brand of mouthwash is not one we recommend here at Modern Dental in Boise, because we have had patients with bad experiences with it as well. Nothing to that level though.

Of our patients that came in with sloughing of the mouth, which is when your tissues inside your mouth are damaged and “peeling” off inside your mouth, 9 out of 10 of them had used this particular brand of mouthwash.

We also found that in addition to not being very effective this mouthwash CAUSES stains on teeth. That is kind of defeating the purpose of any oral care product.

Not All Mouthwash Is Bad

Not every brand of mouthwash is bad and a lot of them will actually give you better results than certain prescriptions might. And mouthwash is a great tool to wash away debris in your mouth when you may not be able to brush. This situation should be the exception however, not the norm.

I have two different mouthwashes that I may recommend to a patient, but they do different things.

So let’s also talk about why you might need mouthwash and what these two different types are good for.

Listerine

I’m sure most of us realize that everyone has bacteria that lives in our mouths. The reason why some people may need this over others is simple, some people have MORE bacteria in their mouths than others.

This usually means they struggle with halitosis, or bad breath, more than others. No one likes to be the stinky co-worker after lunch. Listerine even manufactures small travel bottles of it’s mouthwash.

If you struggle with bad breath, keep one with you and rinse after eating.

Act Dry Mouth Rinse

Dry mouth is actually a very serious condition. We take it very seriously in the dental profession.

Saliva does a few things for you, first it moistens and cleanses our mouths and aids in digestion of food. Saliva also helps prevent infection in the body by controlling fungi and bacterias in the mouth.

Dry mouth is what it is referred to when you do not produce enough saliva.

There are many different causes of dry mouth and also many treatments.

Saliva substitutes have been around for quite a while but they are not generally very effective. They usually require a prescription or are costly as well.

Act Dry Mouth Rinse has gotten a lot of good feedback from a lot of my patients that have suffered from dry mouth. Even better reviews than costly medication.

The one other mouthwash that sometimes makes my list is Biotene which is another dry mouth rinse. However, I have gotten a lot of mixed reviews on this one so the jury is still out.

If you are one of the thousands of people that suffer from this condition, STOP SUFFERING! We have many ways to help you. Come see us today, or give our South East Boise dental practice a call and see what we can do for you, today.